Holding On
by mcwritten
Summary: Part of the Montgomery Clan series, but not part of the "Life After You" story series.
1. Stumble

**Author's Note: I came up with this, uh...a few moments ago. I've been feeling a little bit downhearted, tonight, and I needed a little something to cheer me up. So, this is just a little..two-shot? I think. I'm not sure. I may take this further, but with me, you can never tell. This is Jacob Everett Sloan. I own him. He is Ella's twin. Part of the Montgomery-Clan series. Same story. Mark in Seattle, Addison in LA. Yada yada. But this isn't one of the "Life After You" series stories. So, yeah. Enjoy. Review. All that Jazz. **

Life was hell, for the redheaded beauty. Under normal circumstances, the redhead would have called her boyfriend, but that wasn't an option. Well. He wasn't really her boyfriend. He was, but he wasn't. They'd gone out for a month now, but hadn't made it officially official. He lived in Seattle, and she lived in Los Angeles, with the twins, Jacob and Ella. But the fact that Mark lived in Seattle, wasn't the problem. The problem was the fact that currently, Jacob was sick, Naomi wasn't speaking to her, Amelia was doing her internship at St. Ambrose, and had been so busy, that calling her wasn't an option. She couldn't call Charlotte or Cooper. Mark himself, wasn't in Seattle, at the moment. He was in Los Angeles at a hotel, avoiding Addison at all costs.

He was avoiding her, because of this one patient, who had been in college, wanting to go to med school, and was a call girl. She remembered that she and Mark had only been going out for a short amount of time. Almost a month. Not too long. They hadn't made it really official, just yet, because he lived in Seattle, and she, in Los Angeles. So they had a date, anytime he could come to LA. He would see the twins, and he would go out on a date with her. But that one time, she and Mark had gotten into a huge argument, because she'd wanted to hopefully get this woman to stop being a call girl, but Mark had told her that it wasn't possible. Mark had seen these things, and although Mark came from her world, he hadn't really been raised like her. So it was natural for him to see certain things like that.

The day after, he had left for Seattle, and heartbroken, especially after her patient had gotten really beaten up, she had told the woman that she couldn't be her doctor anymore. She had taken Mark's advice. But they hadn't spoken since then, and that had been almost two weeks ago. She was heartbroken because she missed him, and since Jacob was sick, she needed him. But she hadn't gotten the courage to call Mark.

The small two and a half year old boy continues to wail, and as he does, his sister does the same. "Mama make Jay quiet!" She cries out, covering her ears, and Addison sighs, walking back and forth across the bedroom, rocking her son, who seems to be having an ear infection.

Ear infection, fever, and a sore throat. You name it, Jacob had it. He wasn't happy at all. He was screaming as loud as he possibly could, which only hurt his throat even more, and made it even more painful for him. She had attempted to set him down to get him to sleep, but it had been impossible, and shortly after she had ended up in her own bedroom, rocking him and trying to get him to go to sleep, Ella had gotten out of her crib, and was now instructing her to get Jacob to be quiet.

Addison feels overwhelmed. At this time, she could use Mark's help. She wants to call him, but she knows that if she calls him, he'll think she's only apologizing, just to get his help. "Alright, let's get you back to bed, Elliebee." Addison says softly, as she picks up Ella, who begins to squirm, and managed to kick Addison in the stomach, causing the redhead to groan.

"Ella!" She groaned out, before setting her daughter down, and frowns at her.

"Noisey!" She whined, pointing to Jacob, and refused to move, and Addison sighs. She doesn't know what to do, because she knows Ella won't go to sleep, until she sets Jacob down, and she knows that since Jacob is sick, he'll refuse to be put down.

"If I call daddy, will you go to sleep?" Addison finally asks carefully, and Ella nods, clapping her hands, as a smile appears across her face, and she jumps up and down.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy tuck Ella!" She cried out happily, and Addison nods. She figures that she'll get Mark's help with the twins, and once she can get Mark alone, she'll talk to him about their argument.

She's dialed his number, and the phone rings once, and twice, before he finally picks up the phone. "Hello?" He says in a rather normal tone.

"Hey, Mark." Addison says in a weak tone, and hearing the crying over the phone, and Addison's tone, makes Mark weary already.

"What do you want, Red?" He asks with a sigh, and she can't help but smile at the fact that he knows her so well.

"Well, see, I was going to call you about uh...apologizing, but then Jacob got sick, and Ella wants you to tuck her in, and she kicked me in the stomach, and somehow, I figured that if I apologized now, and asked you to come over, you'd think I was only apologizing to you, just to get you to help me, and...I don't want you to think that." She tells Mark, speaking quickly.

"I see." Mark merely says, as Jacob crawls onto the bed, resting his head on Addison's pillow, in an attempt to try and sleep. A tear rolls down Addison's cheek, because, she misses Mark. She misses him, and her heart hurts. It feels empty without him, and she tells him so.

"You were right. And...it isn't my place. I wasn't...raised like that, and...I dropped her as a patient." She muttered softly. "But...I...uh..."She began, before a sob escapes her lips. "I uh...miss you. I really, really, miss you. It just...I feel empty, and my heart hurts, knowing that you're here, but you're mad at me, and not speaking to me. I can't take it, not speaking to you. I can't take it, Mark. I know, I need help with the twins right now, but...I want things to be right with us. I miss you." She whispered softly into the phone, wiping away a few tears.

Mark doesn't know what to say. With Addison, it always seems to be up, and down, like a roller coaster. Not like some dirty talk, the way he likes it, but up and down, emotionally. One minute, things are fine, and amazing, and the next, the two of them are arguing so much, that it makes Mark's head hurts, and it makes him want to run away from it all, and bolt.

But there are the twins, and as much as he wants to shake Addison right now, and yell at her, and get her to see that money wasn't everything, and that some situation aren't able to be fixed by just surgery, or talking to people, he loves her. He loves her more than he has ever loved anybody. She's his heart. His world. His everything. And despite how pissed off he is with her at the moment, he gives in.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes." He only says, before hanging up the phone, and Addison feels her heart breaking into a million little pieces, feeling defeated.

**Enjoy. I am writing part two as we speak. I don't know if I'm posting it tonight, or tomorrow, but look for it quite soon. **


	2. It's Not Over

**Author's note: I own nothing but Jacob and Ella. Yes, this is short. But, I want their conversation to be a separate chapter. Hence the shortness. And to me, it's not about how long a story is. To me, as long as I get my point across, and the story sounds like a story, I'm happy. Anyway, enjoy.**

Fifteen minutes later, Mark shows up in his rental car, parking it in the driveway behind Addison's car. Rather than getting out of the car instantly, he stays in the car, having pulled the key out of the ignition, and stares up at the house for a few minutes, before he opens the car door, with a sigh. He steps out of the car and closes the door, locking it behind him, and walks up the driveway to the house, where he rings the doorbell.

Upstairs, Addison has Jacob in her arms. She's laying on the bed, with Jacob on her chest, and Ella resting on her arms, when the doorbell rings. Letting out a loud squeal that causes Jacob to wake up and begin to cry, Ella gets off of the bed as fast as she can, before running down the hallway, and waits for Addison to catch up, before she slowly goes down the stairs, holding Addison's hand.

After what seems like ages to her, she reaches the bottom of the stairs and runs to the front door, jumping up and down in front of the door. "C'mon, Mama!" Ella says with a frown, stomping her foot onto the ground. Addison opens the door and instantly, Ella runs into her father's arm, and he catches her, with a smile.

"What would you have done, if that hadn't been daddy?" Addison asks with a frown on her face, and Ella turns her head and stares at her mother.

"It was Daddy." She insists. "YOU called him." She adds smartly, and Addison can't help but roll her eyes, as she rubs Jacob's back gently, watching Mark step in and close the front door behind him.

Rather than closing the door behind him and leaning in to kiss Addison, he nods at her, before he leans in, and kisses his son's cheek. "Hey, buddy. Heard you're not doing too well." He muttered, and at the sound of his father's voice, Jacob lifts his head up and holds a small hand out to his father, causing Ella to lean out and smack his hand. At this, Jacob shrieks loudly.

"What was that for, kid?" Mark asked Ella, who only frowns.

"Daddy MINE. Mama, JACOBs." Ella insists, as though her parents were property, and although Mark seems to be ready to scold her, that goes away the minute he sees Addison attempting not to laugh, as she rocks Jacob in her arms, who continues to shriek.

"I don't want two screaming children." Mark states to his girlfriend, who nods.

"You, go tuck her in. I've got him." She says quietly, and watches as Mark throws Ella over his shoulder and carries her up the stairs, all while Addison goes over to the couch and lays on it, humming softly.

It takes quite some time, but eventually, just as Mark heads back down stairs, ten minutes later, Jacob's got his head on his mother's chest, and has stopped rubbing his ear. His eyes are drooping, all signs that he'll fall asleep any minute, now.

"Hey, Ella's - "Mark began as he walks over to the couch, only to hear shushing, and Addison laying on the couch with Jacob asleep on her. "Oh." He merely says, and he doesn't know what to do, now. On her part, Addison sits up, and hands Jacob carefully to him.

"I gave him medicine for his earache and his sore throat, but I hope that his fever will get lower by tomorrow." Addison says quietly, and Mark nods slowly.

"I guess I'll go put him to bed. And after that, we can, uh...talk, I guess." He says quietly, as Jacob snuggles up against his father. Mark begins to gently rub his stomach in slow circles, and Jacob grabs Mark's hand, holding onto it tightly, and knowing Jacob, Addison knew that he wasn't going to let go of his father anytime soon.

"Or, we could talk now." She says quietly, and Mark nods in agreement. He doesn't know where to start, and it seems that neither does she. She's spoken on the phone, but, he wants her to say it all face to face. He wants her to admit to his face, that she was wrong, and that she misses him. He wants her to confront him to his face, and not hide behind a phone, to say things.

"That's a good idea." He says quietly, before adding a moment later,"You can start." He says, and she squirms.

"Well, uh...I'm sorry. Because, you were right, and I was stubborn, and I wasn't listening to you. I was more worried about my pride, and reputation as a surgeon, and as a Montgomery." She muttered looking at the ground, and Mark moves in closer, placing his hand on her chin, and tilting it up, so that she is looking into his eyes.

"Addison, look at me." He instructed gently, and she looks into his eyes. "That's not why I'm mad." He finally tells her, and she is left confused.

"Then, why are you mad?" She asks him, curiously.


	3. Stay

**Author's Note: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or Private Practice, but I do own Ella and Jacob and the storyline belongs to AddieGreysPPPEvilRegal9119 and me. We both own the storyline, and the twins. **

Mark Sloan wasn't the type of man to get all touchy feely on people. Growing up, he hadn't been dealt the greatest hand. In fact, his parents hadn't wanted him, and the only family he had, were his girlfriend's ex-husband's family. And he wasn't too certain that he was welcome there, anymore. Even though, they'd told him he would always be a part of their family. Would he open up and let people in? Very rarely. He'd normally be the type of guy who would will his feelings away by having sex. A lot of sex. And that had earned him the reputation of a manwhore. And then he'd fallen for his best friend's wife, and now here they were. Mark has two children, and finally, just finally, is dating the woman of his dreams. But how could this work out, if the woman of his dreams was more interested in running, when things got tough? He knew that he could make more efforts opening up, but if she ran everytime they had an argument, or things got tough, Mark knew that things weren't going to work for long.

Holding his sleeping son, Mark stares into his girlfriend's eyes. "You need to stop running. Because I love you, and I'm always going to be here for you. I'm not going to run. I'm going to be there by your side, through thick and thin. Through it all. I know that you haven't had the best...life, or, beginning, and that people have often proven to you that they can't be trusted, but...I /can/. You can trust me with whatever bothers you. You can't run everytime we have an argument, or things show sign of getting tough. I'm /here/. And if you want this to work, I want you to be able to trust me enough to talk to me." He muttered as he continued to rub his son's stomach.

Crossing her arms across her chest, Addison sighs. "Mark, I trust you. I do..."She began, only to have Mark interrupt.

"Don't lie to me, Addison. Clearly you don't." He says quietly. And she knows that he's right. He's been so wonderful to her, that she's afraid that one day, he'll wake up and open his eyes, and realize that she isn't the one he wants to end up with. That he wants more from life - more that she can't give him. She's afraid that he'll abandon her. He'll leave her, just like Derek had. And that wasn't something she could handle. So of course, she ran when things got tough. And yes, with this small argument, she had ended up trying to avoid speaking to Mark, until it had become necessary, and his point had been proven.

"Fine. Maybe I'm afraid that one day you'll wake up and realize that I'm not enough, or that you won't love me anymore. Or that you'll abandon me, like Derek did. And maybe I do run, when things get hard, but it's the way I cope with things. In case you forgot, I haven't exactly been raised to sugar-coat things. It's not like Bizzy ever got all 'be strong, and know that you can do anything if you face them head on' to me, if something upset me. Bizzy and the Captain spent their time telling me and Archer to be the best, and she made sure it was drilled into our brains. We weren't made to deal with what happens if we aren't the best at everything. Clearly I'm not the best when it comes to personal matters and so I run, instead of facing things." She says honestly to her boyfriend.

Before Addison can get another word in, Mark nods slowly and begins to speak again. "That's all I wanted to hear. And for the record, I'm never gonna leave you. You don't have to worry about that. But let's just deal with life slowly. Everything one step at a time." He quietly says to her before he stands up from his spot at the coffee table and takes a seat on the couch next to her. Pulling the redhead into his arms, he kisses her temple, before bringing his hand to her chin, and turning her head slightly, so she is looking into his eyes.

"I want you to be looking at me, when I say that I love you. I love you more than anything. And yes, I was a manwhore, and I won't deny that I could make a mistake, and sleep with a random person in the future, but /you/...you're what matters to me. I want to be the relationship and family type of guy for /you/. Just you. And if you're afraid to trust me completely, I want to work hard to get you to trust me completely, eventually. Because I love you, and I love us, and I love the twins." He says to her, before leaning in and kissing her on the lips.

Addison deepens the kiss that Mark places upon her lips, but Mark pulls away a moment later, causing her to whimper. "In case you've forgotten, my mini me's still asleep in my arms." He says with a smirk, and she can't help but smile.

"Fine, go put your mini me to sleep." She says as she stands up and stretched, watching Mark stand up.

"I will, but you better be laying on the bed, completely naked, by the time Jay's in bed." He whispered into her ear, causing a shiver to run down her spine, as she smiles up at him.

"Gladly." She tells her boyfriend with a smirk as she makes her way up the stairs, with Mark following close behind.

"Nice ass." He muttered, and she stops, turning around to look at him.

"Really? You couldn't have said that after tucking Jay in?" She teases with a smirk still on her lips, and he grins. "Nope, sorry, Red." He says with a shake of his head before smacking her ass with a grin, causing her to gasp. Her mouth drops open, and she watches him make his way into their children's room, before closing her mouth and shaking her head, walking to her bedroom.

**Slightly short. Anyway, the next chapter is being written. I already have one paragraph written. I can't promise to have it posted today, because we all know how I get when I make promises of posting a new chapter. I post according to my writing muse. Although with luck I may post today. Who knows.**


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